Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking

From the Kitchens of YamChops: review and recipe

2018-05-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

When I was first offered a review copy of From the Kitchens of YamChops, a cookbook by Michael Abramson, chef and founder of YamChops, the first vegan butcher shop in North America (Toronto, Canada), I suspected it was all about seitan and other meat substitutes, but I was wrong. That's Wrong with a capital W. When I started looking through the recipes, I was bookmarking so many I wanted to try I ran out of bookmarks, and had to tear up a sheet of newspaper so I could keep saving pages. And none of them involved seitan. Don't get me wrong, I love(d) seitan, until I realized I could continue to endure cramps and intestinal disturbance, or stop eating gluten. So I stopped. But while YamChops has its share of gluten-based recipes, if you are gluten-free, there's a ton of stuff for you, too. There's something for everyone, and it's delicious.

"Some might say that a vegan butcher is an oxymoron, but we believe plant-based proteins can (and should) be staples of any kitchen or diet," writes Abramson in the introduction. "Our recipes appeal to all types of eaters: vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians — those who are trying to reduce their meat and dairy consumption."

There are six chapters — Mouthwatering meatless mains; Selfie-worthy appetizers and sides; Bold bowls, broths and brews; Remarkable salads, slaws and dips; Sensational sauces, salsas and chutneys; Scrumptious chocolate endings. There are no ingredient chapters, no how-to chapters, no substitutions chapters, etc. It's all about the recipes. There are easy and basic recipes for everyday, and more exotic ones that would work well for entertaining. When I look through the book, I get hungry.

Lemon lentil soup.

The first recipe we tried came from a disagreement. My husband wanted lentil soup for dinner and I did not. I think he would eat lentil soup every night, and I get sick of it. However, when I saw there was a lentil soup recipe in YamChops, I compromised — he could make lentil soup if he used the YamChops recipe. I wasn't expecting it to be so good! This easy-to-make soup was so flavorful and delicious it's become our go-to lentil soup recipe. It was a lentil soup revelation. Really.

Cumin-lime, black bean and quinoa bowl.

Next we tried the Cumin-lime, black bean and quinoa bowl. We tend to go for the simpler, everyday recipes that we happen to already have the ingredients for, since we're not the greatest at planning ahead. Although the ingredients seemed quotidian, the results were anything but. The sauce and the roasted sweet potatoes made the bowl scrumptious and satisfying. We cut back a bit on the oil, and used arugula instead of spring mix, but the bowl was still fabulous. (The publisher has given me permission to share the recipe, and you'll find it at the end of the review.)

mozzarella cheese.

In the sauce chapter there's a recipe for mozzarella cheese, and I was curious to see if it was better than other mozzarella recipes I've made in the past. It called for a small amount of coconut oil but didn't specify virgin or refined. I knew if I used virgin, the coconut flavor would be there, but maybe the cheese flavor needed that. There was no clue from the recipe so I used half and half.

mozzarella cheese, sliced.

The cheese is slice-able, grate-able and it melts and browns. At first I didn't like it — it had a sweetish, slight coconut taste. It didn't taste like mozzarella and I thought it needed more salt. I personally wouldn't serve it sliced as an appetizer.

Mozzarella, melted.

Then, I melted it on toast in my air fryer, and I became hooked. So what if it doesn't taste exactly like mozzarella? When I sprinkled it with oregano, sea salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, it tasted so good I just couldn't stop eating it, which was fine since I had a refrigerator full of the stuff. Look at it — you can't deny the melted beauty of this cheese. (Although the cheese is supposed to be grate-able, I didn't test this out. All of the melted mozzarella you see in the review was melted from slices.)

Black bean meatless meatballs.

I wanted to make something from the meatless mains chapter, and since I had a ton of cheese, and a stack of frozen pizza crusts from a local restaurant, it seemed logical to make a meatball and mozzarella pizza. Wouldn't you? The meatballs were tasty, with a slightly chewy texture. Though they didn't taste like meat, they looked like it, and they tasted great.

Black bean meatless meatballs and mozzarella pizza.

I cut them in half and topped them with extra tomato sauce for a thoroughly delightful pizza.

Meatball sandwich.

In the cookbook, the meatballs are shown in a meatball sub sandwich, which is kind of hard to pull off in a gluten-free version without advance planning to locate the rolls. Here's my version. The only thing I'm missing (beside the rolls) are the fried onions. Next time.

Chocolate banana cream pie.

My review wouldn't be complete if I had ignored the chocolate chapter. After much indecision, I finally decided to make the chocolate banana cream pie. Actually, I made half a recipe, and used a small pie plate rather than the nine-inch size listed. The crust was a bit scarce but I had tons of filling. The crust didn't work well for me, though I tried to follow the directions. Although it's delicious, it's very sticky and doesn't stay attached to the filling. The filling though is spectacular — thick, firm, rich, chocolatey and perfect. I may have to try again with a different crust — the pie is too good to only make once.

Finally, here's the recipe I promised. Enjoy!

(Reprinted with permission from From the Kitchen of YamChops by Michael Abramson, Page Street Publishing Co. 2018. Photo credit: Vincenzo Pistritto)

Cumin-Lime, Black Bean and Quinoa Bowl

"You know the feeling when everything just melds together in perfect harmony? This is that feeling. Warming cumin, tart lime and sweet maple syrup combine to elevate the flavor of everything else in this bowl of goodness." Serves 6

bowl

1½ cups (200 g) sweet potato peeled and cut in ½-inch (13-mm) cube
1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Spring mix
1½ cups (277 g) cooked quinoa
1½ cups (90 g) canned black beans, rinsed well
1½ cups (75 g) grated carrot

Cumin-Lime Dressing

1/8 cup (80 ml) fresh lime juice
2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup
2 tbsp (10 g) grated carrot
2 small cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp (5 g) ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C).

Place the sweet potato in a bowl, add oil and sprinkle sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss well to coat and place the cubes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden and just beginning to brown. Mix every 5 minutes or so. When the sweet potatoes are ready, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
To make the dressing, add the lime juice, syrup, carrot, garlic, cumin and salt to a blender and blend until smooth. With the blender running on low, slowly drizzle in the olive oil in a steady stream. Place the dressing in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
Start with a base of spring mix in 6 shallow bowls. Divide the quinoa, black beans, carrot and potato among the bowls.
Mix the dressing well and drizzle 2 generous tablespoons (30 ml) over each bowl.

Ate the kraut. Didn't get sick.

2018-05-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

In my last post I described how I was making sauerkraut for the first time. I used a recipe in which the kraut was massaged with sea salt, then packed into a jar to ferment for two weeks. I've made lots of fermented foods over the years — I used to pickle an eight gallon crock full of green tomatoes every fall — and I've made my share of cucumber pickles. I also made quick fermented vegetables with a Japanese pickle press, and also stuff like cashew cheeses, but for some reason I've never fermented cabbage into sauerkraut. Sauerkraut has never been a favorite food of mine, but when I watched a video of it being made, I was suddenly obsessed with making my own. Go figure.

After the first week, I checked the kraut, and the liquid which had previously been overflowing to the point where I had to keep a saucer under the jar, was no longer covering the fermenting cabbage. I pushed down on the weight, and the liquid rose once again, so I knew I needed a heavier weight. I just want to mention here I have a 'small' problem with rocks. I collect them wherever I go, and there are numerous rocks inside and outside my house, so finding a heavier one wasn't an issue. In fact, family members have even brought me back rocks as gifts when they go on vacation, which is how I acquired the beauty atop my jar. Once I placed it on top, the liquid rose over the cabbage again. Problem solved.

After two weeks were up, I declared the kraut finished, and the weights were removed. The cabbage had gone from green to a much paler krauty color, but it had absorbed too much of the brine, and was unfortunately no longer submerged. After searching the Internet once again for additional kraut wisdom, and finding what I needed to know, I dissolved a teaspoon of sea salt in a cup of water and poured it over. It filled the jar exactly.

The moment of truth had arrived. You know, anytime I leave food fermenting on the counter for two weeks, I fear tasting it. My husband was out of town so I couldn't risk his life instead of mine — there was no choice but to dig in. It's good! I've been eating a small amount every day, and I like it! It's kind of plain, and I'm thinking of possibly enlivening it with some ginger, or caraway seed, or something.

And, yes, I have another cabbage waiting in the wings for the next batch. Making my own sauerkraut was easy and satisfying, and a lot cheaper than buying artisanal jars at the co-op. I may have to invest in another big canning jar for the next batch!

p.s. My husband has since tasted and approved the sauerkraut, though he says it could be more sour.

Want to see the video I watched before I made my sauerkraut? Part 1: The kraut is fermenting

My second batch is now fermenting, and here are some changes I made:

1. I added two thin onion slices, shredded, and about an inch of fresh ginger, grated.

2. Massaging the kraut can be tiring to the hands, but I found I could massage more efficiently, and comfortably, by using my fists.

3. Pressing on the cabbage with a flat, heavy, clean stone is even better and faster!

The kraut is fermenting

2018-05-04T14:11:00.002-07:00

Day one of placing the cabbage into the jar.

This post is going to be a serial, since the food I'm making takes two weeks, and I thought I'd post my progress rather than wait until the end. I'm making sauerkraut. I've made sauerkraut and other fermented foods in the past, but this time I'm following the lead of Michelle Babb, and making it the way she instructs in the video I'm sharing with you. A couple of weeks ago I took a cooking class from Michelle called anti-inflammatory eating for healthy aging. She made several incredibly delicious dishes for us to try, using anti-inflammatory foods, one of which, to my horror, turned out to be fennel. Fennel, black licorice, anise — I've spent years trying to tolerate the taste so I can eat things like five-spice powder and pho. I've had roasted fennel bulb, and it was excellent, but in our class, we had a raw fennel and spring onion salad, and I ate it and liked it! It was made with the raw fennel bulb, not the greens.

Michelle talked a lot about feeding our microbiome, and one of the ways to do that is with small amounts of fermented foods. During the class, she shared with us that she had posted a video of herself making sauerkraut, on her facebook page, and she then went on to demonstrate the sauerkraut-making process in class. (The video is very complete so I won't spend a lot of time here describing the process.) It looked so easy. Shredding the three-pound cabbage and massaging it take a bit of time and effort, but not so much as to make it a chore. In the first photo above, you can see the cabbage just after I pressed it into the jar, still pretty green. I placed a heavy mortar with a weighty stone in it onto the cabbage to help press it down. The massaging and pressing into the jar created so much liquid it spilled over onto the dish I placed under the jar to catch overflow. I've lifted the towel so you can see my just starting sauerkraut. (I'm using one liter (32oz.) preserving jars from Le Parfait that I bought at the hardware store for about $10 each. There are certainly cheaper jars out there, but I really like this one.)

Foam is forming at the top.

Here's the jar on day five. There is foam at the top of the jar. It smells like sauerkraut, and doesn't seem spoiled, but is foam supposed to be there?

Closeup of the foam.

Even after all the foods I've fermented in my kitchen, I still get nervous about bad bacteria and spoilage. I'll let you know how it turns out! Have you made sauerkraut?

Here is the video I followed to make my kraut. Michelle is a lifestyle and nutrition coach who describes herself as a wannabe vegan. She seems to be moving in that direction but isn't quite there yet, though the class was 100% vegan. Here is a link to the videos on her facebook page.

UPDATES
1. I've got a second batch going, and I made a couple of changes. I added two thin onion slices, shredded, and about an inch of fresh ginger, grated.

2. Massaging the kraut can be tiring to the hands, but I found I could massage more efficiently, and comfortably, by using my fists.

3. Pressing with a flat, heavy, clean stone is even better!

Want to know how the first batch turned out? Part 2: Ate the kraut. Didn't get sick.

Chickpeas get deliciously hip and snacky

2018-04-28T10:53:00.001-07:00

I'm still making my way through the last samples brought home from Vegfest 2018 — I'm a slow snacker, I know. I had a few packets of Hippeas to try, but I had avoided opening them. Maybe it was because I had had a less than pleasant experience with a different chickpea snack, and the Hippeas just didn't seem appealing. I love homemade crispy chickpeas, but haven't been impressed with commercial ones. But, I needed a little something fast to eat, and grabbed a bag of Hippeas organic chickpea snacks — not what I was expecting. I was picturing little, round, toasted chickpeas, but I got a crunchy puffed snack that grabbed my immediate attention.

These crispy little crunchies were delicious. They have a definite cheesy, nutritional-yeasty flavor that I found irresistible — kind of like their bright orange supermarket counterparts, but, you know, organic and vegan. My sample bags were tiny, and I wanted more. We looked at our local co-op and at Whole Foods, but couldn't find them. Then, we went to do our bi-monthly Costco shopping, and were wandering down the snack isle, with Hippeas the farthest thing from our minds, when what did we see sitting on a shelf but a big bag of Hippeas! You just never know what you'll find at Costco — it's always a treasure hunt. (You also don't know if the great product you found will ever be there again!) I now have two bags in the pantry.

I've only tried the cheddar version, but they come in assorted flavors — sriracha sunshine, far out fajita and a few others. Amazon has them if you can't find them locally. They are GOOD! I admit, for the past two nights I had some for dessert after dinner!

I was not asked to write a review. I received my Hippeas as a sample at a public event. All opinions are my own. The Amazon links earn me a few cents if you use them to purchase the product, but mostly I include them as a convenience to readers.

Food and weather

2018-04-24T17:55:00.002-07:00

Simple split soup based on this recipe from Bittersweet Blog. Perfect for a chilly day.

Last Monday when I walked to yoga it was 42˚, raining and windy. Although hardly anyone in Seattle deigns to carry an umbrella, I brought one along because I didn't feel like doing yoga in wet clothes. I was thinking about a dog walk recently where my pants were soaked from the knees down, and a repeat was unappealing. I brought an umbrella because, seriously, I'm way beyond the need to look 'Seattle cool.' This sucks, I was thinking as my umbrella blew inside out, and I struggled to get it righted again. Bleh. I didn't want to arrive at yoga in a bad mood, so I began looking for positive notes and cheerful signs along the way.

My 'winter' smoothie. Perfect when it's chilly. Recipe follows.

Sign number one. I passed an elementary school where the kids were at recess, running around the yard shrieking and laughing as if it were just a normal day. Wow, I thought to myself, it is a normal day as far as they are concerned. They're from Seattle, what do they know. They were all so happy it couldn't help but shine a little (not-sun) light on me.

Sign number two. An actual light. The yoga class meets in the community center located at the lake, across the walking path from the beach. At the last intersection where I cross the roadway that circles the lake, and enter the path, there's a walk signal operated by pressing a button. Within two seconds of hitting the switch, the traffic light turns red and the walk signal turns on — instant gratification. Press the button, stop the traffic, walk across the street. I love it! I press it even when there isn't any traffic, just in case. It's the little things, right?

Harira with eggplant and chickpeas from Isa Does It. Recipe here. Perfect when
big flavor is desired. You can read my soup review here.

Sign number three. The first view of the lake always gives me a little thrill. Depending on the weather, and time of day, the water has a different look — always unique and beautiful. Last Monday it was deep blue-grey and glowing, in spite of the gloom.

Miso cauliflower gravy from Chow Vegan. With air-fried tofu, steamed broccoli
and something else over rice.

Sign number four. It's a short walk to class once I hit the lake walking trail, and when I arrived on Monday, I was startled to see a woman in a bathing suit heading from the beach into the lake. She went into the water at least up to her waist before I left to enter the building, and was shrieking and laughing. I watched for a few minutes to make sure she was okay, but saw she had a friend (dressed appropriately in a warm coat) watching from the beach, so I figured she was fine, having fun, and not trying to commit suicide.

This Monday, one week later, the walk was completely different. It was in the low 50s when I left my house, the sun was shining, and the day promised to be gorgeous. There was a chilly breeze but that didn't stop the locals from wearing shorts and tees. By the time I walked home it was in the upper 60s, and so warm I took off my coat— finally! Today it's in the 70s, and although the locals are in tank tops, I'm still sporting my long-sleeved tee. And, in spite of the fabulous warmer weather, I was craving my winter smoothie this morning.

Back in February, I started occasionally making a breakfast smoothie that I could sip for breakfast during the colder months without making my teeth chatter. I've even made it for the grandkids, who now request it. It's so simple I feel silly sharing a recipe, but in fact, I measured and wrote a recipe — and now I can't find it. It doesn't matter, though. When I made it this morning I didn't have a recipe, but it still turned out creamy, comforting, warming and soothing, so let's just say the recipe is flexible. The key is no frozen fruit — the opposite of a traditional smoothie.

Winter (or spring!) smoothie

one medium-to-large ripe banana
two medjool dates, pitted
three fresh strawberries (optional but good, esp. in spring)
1/2 cup plain soymilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
two tablespoons hempseeds
one tablespoon chia seed (optional)

Place all in a high speed blender and blend until creamy and smooth. If it's too thick for you, add more soymilk, one tablespoon at a time, but it's meant to be thick and creamy. The result will be slightly warm and delicious. Serves one adult.

Kati Vegan Thai and The Cookie Counter ice cream shop

2018-04-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Two vegan food bloggers go out to dinner.

In my last post about Seattle Vegfest, I mentioned that my husband and I attended a cooking demo by cookbook author and blogger, Hannah Kaminsky, and we three later went out to dinner together. We've been blog friends for a long time, and it was wonderful getting to spend real-life time together.

When we went to pick up Hannah from her air B&B, we were startled to find it located in the middle of the steepest, most alarmingly vertical city street we've ever seen in Seattle. It was so steep that my husband, who was driving, refused to drive down it, so we parked at the cross street at the top, and carefully walked down to meet her. I kind of wanted to drive down the slope just to see what it felt like, but I had to settle for walking. I imagine on snowy or icy days, people who live on the block don't bother to get out of bed. In nice weather, if you wanted some exercise, you could just walk up and down the street a couple of times and call it a day. Lovely house, though, and good views!

We had picked a restaurant relatively close by in South Lake Union called, Kati Vegan Thai. It's always a treat to go to a restaurant that's 100% vegan where you don't have to negotiate the vegan options. My husband and I had been there twice before and enjoyed it, and I already knew they had lots of gluten-free dishes. In addition to having good food, it's a pleasant, quiet place where it's possible to have a conversation as well as dinner. My friend Kati recently dined there, and said she was told by the owner that 'Kati', pronounced Kah tee in Thai, means coconut milk. The food at Kati Vegan Thai isn't exotic, heavily sauced and intensely spiced — it's fresh , simple, delicious food.

According to their Web site, "Making it ‘easy’ is keeping things simple, getting it right, and doing it fast. It’s about picking the best ingredients at the open air market every afternoon. It is trusting in technique over ‘secret sauces’. It’s about channeling natural flavor combinations instead of eclectic fusions and rare ingredients from afar. Says Fon, 'Perfect does not have to be complicated!' We believe in honesty and respect for ourselves and our customers. Kati specializes in healthful and flavorful cuisine made with plant-based ingredients. We choose fresh ingredients with only as much cooking oil as needed. We also want to live in a clean and sustainable world, and choose biodegradable products."

We ordered four dishes —

larb makua, a “sautéed eggplant salad with mushrooms, toasted rice, diced green onions & cilantro;”

tom yum, “the classic sour and spicy herbal soup;"

old-style pad Thai, "a uniquely delicious pad Thai found only at Kati;” and pad pak, “broccoli, cauliflower, napa cabbage, and carrots stir-fried in mild garlic sauce.” I forgot to take a photo of the pad pak, the last dish to arrive at the table. Guess I was too busy eating by the time it appeared. I enjoyed all four dishes!

After dinner we began talking about vegan desserts, with an emphasis on ice cream, a subject dear to Hannah's heart. We decided to travel to the Greenwood neighborhood for scoops of ice cream at the Cookie Counter, an all-vegan ice cream parlor and bakery. The Cookie Counter started as a vegan ice cream truck, then crowd-funded into an adorable little shop where they make and sell delicious coconut milk-based ice cream. It was close to closing time when we arrived but there were still lots of people enjoying ice cream, and more people arriving. Ken got a scoop of chocolate in a waffle cone, I got a scoop of mint chip in a cake cone and Hannah got a scoop of mint chip with a chocolate shell in a waffle bowl. I didn't notice the waffle bowls or I would have gotten one, too! Next time.

Once again I neglected my blogger duty to photograph all food I encounter, but Hannah saved the day by capturing an ice cream moment.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In other news, if you have any interest in entering a vegan recipe contest, read the notice below. There are lots of good prizes!

Call for vegan recipe submissions opens in April with $1,000 as grand prize

DENVER, CO - Kroger’s Live Naturally magazine, along with Kroger’s organic line Simple Truth, are partnering with celebrities and brands within the plant-based market to offer a recipe contest offering $1,000 as the grand prize. A call for recipe submissions began on April 3, 2018 and ends on July 15, 2018.

World-renowned vegan chef and 2017 Vegetarian Hall of Fame Inductee Mark Reinfeld of Vegan Fusion and The Doctor & The Chef created the contest to encourage creativity and create awareness of plant-based cuisine. Celebrity judge Ellie Krieger will help choose the winners. Ellie is the host and executive producer of the new cooking series “Ellie’s Real Good Food” and is well-known from her hit Food Network show.

One winner for the grand prize will be announced on August 15, 2018. Runner-up prizes will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Vitamix Blender
Kroger Simple Truth Goodie Bags & Coupons
Signed copy of Healing the Vegan Way cookbook by Mark Reinfeld
Signed copy of You Have It Made: Delicious, Healthy Do-Ahead Meals cookbook by Ellie Krieger
Vegan Fusion Academy & Vegetarian Times Online Course
The Doctor & The Chef One-Year Vegan Wellness Online Membership
Copies of various plant-based cookbooks from award-winning authors and chefs
Additional prizes from national brands and sponsors
And more...

For contest rules, a complete list of prizes and to submit your recipe, visit www.LiveNaturallyMagazine.com/RecipeContest/.

Seattle Vegfest 2018: products we loved

2018-04-10T13:59:00.001-07:00

TBV (throwback vegfest) from a 2011 volunteer stint.

On Saturday, we did what we usually do around this time of year, we went to Seattle Vegfest at the Seattle Center. We went early to avoid the crowds, and ended up standing in a long line waiting for the ticket windows to open. Avoid the crowds? What was I thinking? This was the busiest Vegfest I can remember. It was packed with people even just after opening at 10 a.m., which I suppose is a good thing, as it indicates a booming interest in vegan and vegetarian food. Vegfest isn't 100% vegan, but this year it seemed that nearly everything I encountered was vegan. I was astonished at all the food tables filled with vegan, gluten free, organic food. I think there were more than 500 foods to try, and everything I tasted (except one fizzy drink) was delicious. In addition to eating enough food to make me feel full long before we reached the last of the tables, we also attended two cooking demos — one an Indian food demo revolving around chickpeas, and the other a demo by none other than Hannah Kaminsky, the intrepid blogger (Bittersweet Blog) and cookbook author, cooking foods from her latest cookbook, "Real Food Really Fast." I was excited to catch up with Hannah after her presentation, and we ended up going out for dinner (and then out for ice cream!) later in the evening. More about this later.

I'm embarrassed to say I didn't bring my camera to Vegfest, nor did I take a single photo with my phone, thus the 2011 throwback photo at the top of the page. (We were volunteering that day stationed between Mighty-O doughnuts and Theo chocolate — and I personally took full advantage of that positioning.) When I mentioned to my husband that I hadn't taken any photos, he suggested I recycle old ones, as a joke, I think. Well, looks like the joke's on him. This year my blogging credentials are at risk, I know, but I'll try to make up for my failure by showing you some of the finer things we tasted, then bought and brought home, as well as a couple of samples we acquired. And there's also the dinner...

Our first item bought at vegfest was purchased by my husband, when we came upon Doshi, a company selling vegan leather products such as purses, wallets and belts, as well as backpacks and briefcases. The business is a new one, and we were told they had held up production until they were sure they could provide a quality product that would last. They are an ethical, vegan company giving 5% of all (profitable) sales to non-profits benefiting animals, people, and the environment. Ken bought a beautiful belt, and it does seem to be of excellent quality.

The purses and backpacks were gorgeous, too, if you're looking for a beautiful vegan bag. The wallets were also nice. Look above at their card with contact information if you want to find out more.

Oh boy, these two items were so delicious. Not just delicious, but easy to use. I was especially taken with the Nutra Kik vegetable broth powder from Kawi Foods, which was the tastiest broth I've tried in a long time. It takes one tablespoon per cup of boiling water to make veggie broth, or you can use it straight from the package to add extra flavor to a casserole or whatever. The ingredients are non GMO nutritional yeast, organic onion, sea salt, org. garlic, org. shiitake mushrooms, org. fennel, org. paprika, org. red beets, org. oregano, org. basil, org. cayenne pepper, org. thyme. There are other varieties as well, and I wish I had realized there was a salt-free version. I like to add my own salt.

The cashew sauce from the Beyond Better company, comes in several flavors but I only tasted the original. It was rich and creamy. Homemade cashew sauce is pretty easy to make but if I'm pressed for time I think I'll be happy to have a couple of packets of Beyond Better cashew sauce on hand for quick, savory and cheesy toppings. The ingredients include org. cashews, nutritional yest, org. tapioca, org. sea salt, org. herbs and spices, org. onion, org. garlic, org. acacia fiber (prebiotic), guar gum, org. turmeric, org. yellow mustard, org. cayenne, xanthan gum, vegan lactic acid. Vegan, no gluten, no GMO, no soy, no grains.

Jilz crackerz may be too addicting for me to have around the house. We snagged a few samples, though, so I can indulge a little until they are gone, then we'll see how long I can last before I buy more. They come in three flavors — original cracked pepper and sea salt, Mediterranean, and Tuscan. You can find the crackers on jilzglutenfree.com, on thrivemarket.com, on Amazon, or possibly in a store near you. Check the Jilz website for a list of stores.

We also love Thin Stackers — a thin, small, square flat rice cake from Lundberg. Our sample was red rice and quinoa. I'm very fond of spreading things on crackers.

I wasn't especially hungry when we finally got home from Vegfest, what with all the delicious foods we sampled, but a couple of hours later I felt a little snackish. I ate an entire small bag of crunchy, Lundberg Rice Chips, and I liked them a lot!

I also want to mention the Kite Hill Greek yogurt sample I tried. It was the best tasting and best textured vegan yogurt I've had — not counting my homemade soy yogurt. My husband purchased a few small containers of Kite Hill almond yogurt (plain) — not Greek yogurt — at the co-op, and I liked it almost as much. The Greek yogurt I had tried at vegfest was flavored, but I prefer to buy plain yogurt and add fresh berries and raisins. Do you have a favorite yogurt?

I was planning to write about our dinner and dessert with Hannah, but I think I'm going to have to do it another day. If I don't publish this now, it might be days before I finish!

Potluck

2018-01-26T15:51:00.000-08:00

Don't think there's a recipe for spring rolls here, but these look great!

I belong to a vegan group that gets together about once a month for lunch out. It's a fun way to enjoy great conversation and explore all the vegan restaurant options in our city. At the last event, one of my friends from the group, Sandra, told me she belongs to another vegan group in the nearby city of Bellevue, that holds a potluck every month. They choose a theme for the potluck by the 'idea-on-a-piece-of-paper-drawn-from-a-hat' method, and her idea was selected for the next potluck. I think they usually pick a popular vegan cookbook, but she wrote Andrea's easy vegan cooking on her piece of paper, and everyone was supposed to cook something from my blog. Would I like to come?

Roasted veggies

A more extroverted, confident person might have been thrilled and honored, but I was horrified. I tried to remain calm and 'normal' but I was experiencing thoughts like, "what if the recipes don't work?" "What if everything comes out awful?" "What if they hate the blog?" After recovering from the sensation of having sharp kitchen knives hurled at me, I said I would attend, if the date didn't conflict with my grandson's fifth birthday party. His birthday was occurring on a Tuesday, and I didn't yet know which weekend day would be selected for his party. I even started to look forward to the potluck, and think about what I might bring.

Braised greens with tofu, cashews and raisins.

As it turned out, the date of the potluck was also the date of the Women's March in Seattle, as well as my grandson's party. We spent the morning and early afternoon at the march, the late afternoon at the joy-filled birthday party, and the evening at a quieter family birthday dinner at the little guy's house. It was an amazing, exhilarating day, and while I'm truly sorry to have missed the potluck, I'm glad I spent most of it with my wonderful family.

Two chickpea salads.

According to Sandra, 14 people attended the potluck, and it was a success — everyone enjoyed the food. (I hope she's telling the truth!) I had asked her to take pictures, and the photos I'm sharing here are hers, reprinted with permission.

I liked this marcher's sign!

Here's a glimpse into what I did on the day of the potluck. As I mentioned, I participated in the women's march, as I did last year. It feels so uplifting during these troubling times, to be surrounded by people who believe in justice, kindness, truth, etc.

I took a couple of photos of marchers and their signs.

And here's the birthday boy, just after blowing out the candles on his cupcake. Some days there are just not enough hours to do everything you want.

A mug of hot chocolate-almond-coffee

2018-01-05T12:42:00.001-08:00

I was reading the paper the other day, and a recipe for a chocolate coffee smoothie caught my eye. It was in an article on healthy recipes. It wasn't the 'healthy' aspect that held my attention — it was the chocolate combined with almond and coffee in a potentially warming drink. The smoothie aspect was unappealing, considering the outdoor (and indoor!) temperature, but the thought of a soothing hot, delicious beverage was tempting. I adapted the recipe to provide a warming beverage, rather than a cold one. The drink isn't thick or creamy, but it is delicious. If you're in need of a hot beverage to warm you up, you might want to try this one.

I'm not a regular coffee drinker, and neither is my husband — he drinks gallons of tea — so we don't have a coffee maker standing ready. Plus, I'm extremely sensitive to caffeine, and can only drink decaf. I have a jar of high quality freeze dried instant decaf in the cupboard, just in case I occasionally want some, and that's what I used. If you have hot coffee ready and waiting, or prefer your beverage with caffeine, go for it. You could also use a coffee substitute. I'll probably try it with my Dandy Blend herbal dandelion root beverage.

Hot chocolate almond coffee
(adapted from a recipe in Parade Magazine by Alison Ashton)

3 pitted dates
boiling water (or hot brewed coffee)
1 rounded teaspoon of freeze-dried instant coffee, decaf or regular (if brewed coffee isn't being used)
1 heaping tablespoon plain, unsweetened non-dairy yogurt
2 tablespoons almond butter
1-1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder
generous pinch of cardamom

Place the dates in a one cup glass measuring cup and add boiling water to make one cup. (OR, place dates and cold water in the measuring cup and microwave two minutes. OR, place dates in glass measuring cup and fill to one cup mark with hot brewed coffee.) Let sit one minute.
Add contents of measuring cup to high speed blender. Add instant coffee (if brewed coffee wasn't used), yogurt, almond butter, cocoa, and cardamom to the blender. Blend until smooth and frothy.
Enjoy.

Thanksgiving was delicious - for days

2017-11-28T18:27:00.001-08:00

We had 10 people at the Thanksgiving table this year, including three children, and enough food for about 10 more, but I love Thanksgiving leftovers. On Friday one of our sons came for dinner, and we had leftovers — after my husband and I had already had leftovers for breakfast and lunch. We had leftovers on Saturday and Sunday (breakfast and lunch) too, and I finally finished them off on Monday. Understand that I'm not complaining — as I said, I love leftovers — and am sad that they won't be available tomorrow. We had a lot of food, but I'm happy to say we didn't waste any.

What you see above is our turkey. I found a photo of the veggie turkey online a few years ago and finally remembered to construct it this year. I wish I could remember exactly where I found it, but you can view the photo here. It served as one of the appetizers along with homemade hummus and smokey cheese dip.

Our daughter-in-law brought a large plate of fabulous pickled vegetables as an appetizer as well.

And a bowl of olive tapenade — my favorite. I love tapenade!

One son brought a bowl of chili lime popcorn as an appetizer, and it completely disappeared. Everyone came early so there was plenty of time to nosh before the main meal, and we made quite a dent in the offerings.

From the main Thanksgiving feast, I can only show you some of the food because, as is often the case, I forgot to take photos of everything. There are no photos of the potato stuffing, a fabulous family favorite recipe that originally came from Russia with my great grandmother, and none of the 'main dish', the wild rice pilaf, or the miso gravy, or the savory white bean casserole. One of our sons made the stuffing and beans, and I made the pilaf and gravy. The pilaf was fluffy with wild rice and brown rice and stuffed with mushrooms, onions, garlic, toasted walnuts, air-fried brussels sprouts, peas, celery, soy curls, herbs and spices. I used parsley, sage and rosemary from the garden. The curls were marinated overnight in some of the gravy, and liberally seasoned with granulated onion and garlic as well as chili lime spice from Trader Joe's, then baked a bit before being added to the pilaf and baked in the oven.

I made my usual cranberry compote, which is a favorite with the kids. It's a delicious and easy side dish that can be made the day before, and I recommend it. You can vary the contents to suit your personal tastes, and it cooks itself in a slow cooker while you do other things. (Recipe at end of post.)

New to this year's Thanksgiving table was aloo palak pie in a mashed potato crust — a recipe from Pies and Tarts With Heart by Dynise Balcavage. (I reviewed the book in 2013 when it was first published; you can read the review here if you want to know more about Dynise's cookbook.) I loved, loved, loved the tart, and can't wait to make it again. Because I had permission to publish the recipe when I wrote the review, I'm going to hope and assume I still have permission, and will include it at the end of the post.

Roasted Brussels sprouts and butternut squash was my husband's beautiful and tasty contribution to the meal. We made the preparation of the dish much less time consuming by purchasing already cubed squash. Believe it or not, this was the first time we've bought pre-cut squash, but it certainly won't be the last. What a time-saver —tossed with a little oil and salt, and roasted to caramelized perfection.

Since I failed to photograph the rest of the main course, let's just move on to dessert. Of course there was pie — this year it was sweet potato pie. I used the same recipe I used last year for voluptuous pumpkin pie from Isa Chandra Moskowitz, except I used sweet potatoes, and only two (not four) teaspoons of oil. Because sweet potatoes are more dense than pumpkin or squash, it required a bit more soymilk. It's a great pie, and easy to make. I always garnish my pie with chocolate chips.

In addition to pie, there was cake. I saw a recipe for chocolate chip pumpkin date bread on Keepin' it Kind, and after reading the story of Kristy's grandmother's famous date nut bread, I got out my copy of But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan, and looked up the original recipe. I didn't want a second pumpkin dessert since one of our guests isn't a fan of pumpkin or cinnamon. I'm not a big fan of nuts in cake, so I decided to use the original recipe from the cookbook, subbing the chocolate chips from the blog recipe, for the walnuts. (I was also planning to add dried cranberries, but forgot.) Not only was the cake dangerously delicious, it kept getting better and better each day. Go make the pumpkin date bread — you won't be sorry. (My review of Kristy's cookbook can be found here. It's filled with delectable dishes, some of which have become staples at our house.)

I hope you had a happy thanksgiving. Here are the recipes I promised for cranberry compote and spinach pie. Just a note: when I made the pie I used three, five-ounce packages of fresh baby spinach for the pie filling.

Quarry Books has graciously allowed the recipe for Aloo Palak Pie to be reprinted. It is copyrighted material. Please do not reproduce without permission from the publisher.

Aloo Palak Pie with Mashed Potato Crust

Mashed Potato Pie Crust (one 9-inch crust)
We usually think of vegetables as pie filling and not pie bases. But I like to flip things upside down on occasion. Some vegetables, like the potato family, make wonderful savory crust bases. Carbolicious and comforting, mashed potato crusts are economical and an interesting way to transform leftovers into a literal meal base. You can use mashed white potatoes, sweet potatoes, or even mashed turnips or rutabagas. Or mix and match.

About 5 potatoes, peeled and baked, or "nuked"
2 to 3 tablespoons (28 to 42 g) margarine
2 to 4 tablespoons (30 to 60 ml) nondairy milk (to bind, if needed)
½ teaspoon salt or more, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Mash with the margarine and milk until creamy. (Use a potato ricer to save time!) Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Aloo-Palak Pie
Aloo palak without ghee is one of the darlings of vegan Indian cuisine lovers. This 'reconstructed' version uses all the flavors of aloo palak that you love, in an unexpected pie presentation. It’s loaded with vitamins and it’s cheaper than takeout.

(Makes one 9-inch (23 cm) tart)
For Spinach Filling:

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
Pinch of nutmeg
1 to 1½ teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ to ½ teaspoon red hot pepper flakes (optional, but I use the full Monty!)
7 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
¼ to ½ teaspoon salt
12 cups (360 g) roughly chopped, trimmed spinach or baby spinach, preferably organic

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC, or gas mark 4).
Press the crust into the pan. Set aside.
To make the filling: In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the spices, then the garlic and onion, and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt if the mixture starts to dry out.
Add one-fourth of the spinach, let it wilt, stir, and repeat until all of the spinach is in the pan.
Cook for about 10 minutes. Spread into the crust.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm. Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of the book. All opinions are my own. I was not paid for my review.

Cranberry compote in the slow cooker
Adapted from Autumn Fruit Crock in Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker, by Robin Robertson, and memories of my mother's and grandmother's kitchens.
I think of the recipe as a 'guideline' rather than a 'recipe' because although this is close to what I did — I used two pears and one apple this time —you can do pretty much what you want, and adjust it to your preferences. I believe my mother always added pineapple chunks to hers. I like my cranberries tangy, but feel free to make them as sweet as you wish. This is a great dish to serve anytime, any holiday — all fall and winter. You can change up the type and quantity of the fruit except maybe for the cranberries, though I recommend keeping the mango as it adds natural sweetness, and goes so well with the cranberries. Leftovers are great for breakfast with yogurt or oatmeal.

one-14oz box of fresh cranberries
two medium baking apples
one ripe pear
handful of dried apricots
handful of prunes or raisins
one cup of cut frozen mango or fresh mango
1/4 cup (or more or less, to taste) dark sugar (I used coconut sugar)
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
two tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup water
one cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon salt
one teaspoon vanilla

Dice all the fruit (except cranberries and raisins, if using) to approximate size of cranberries. I didn't peel my fruit.
Add all ingredients, except vanilla, to a slow cooker.
Cook on low 5-1/2 to 6 hours, until fruit is soft. (Depending on what variety of apples you choose, the apples may retain some firmness.)
Stir in the vanilla and taste for sweetness.
Chill before serving. Can be made the day before needed. Thickens more as it cools.

My compote turned out nice and thick, but if yours doesn't, cook a short while longer without the lid.

Post Script ...

During dinner ...

After dinner ...

Gobble gobble

This post contains Amazon links.

Random food I loved but never managed to blog about

2017-11-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start with a gargantuan salad, because I just had it yesterday, and haven't yet forgotten anything about it. It was as big as it looks. We had gone out to lunch with a bunch of vegan friends, and I wasn't feeling very hungry, so I ordered a salad. We were lunching at Next Level Burger, a very casual, all-vegan, organic burger joint inside of Whole Foods. I guess I thought since the emphasis was on burgers, the salad wouldn't be a BIG deal. I must not have been paying attention. I ate about 1/4 of it, and we had most of the rest with dinner. I also ordered a delicious child-size vanilla shake. Everyone in our group seemed pleased with their burger choices, and I have to give a special shout-out to the wonderful, very knowledgeable, staff. As for gluten-free choices, in case you were wondering, almost everything on the menu is gluten-free and you can request a gluten free bun. Plenty of choices for everyone. Even the shakes can be made with either soy or coconut soft serve.

Here is a nacho bowl with homemade cheese sauce. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to look up a recipe (like, for cheese sauce) so I just throw things into the blender that I think will taste good, and it usually works. It worked this time, topped with green onions, and served over kidney beans, tomatoes and chips.

I love tahini sauce — I've been making versions of tahini sauce for more than 30 years. Sometimes I add lemon juice, sometimes miso, sometimes umeboshi paste, etc. Lately my husband has started making it — a lot. Here's a plate of noodles with air-fried tofu, roasted cauliflower, red peppers and tahini sauce. Tahini sauce. Did I mention the tahini sauce? Just kidding, Ken. You are getting seriously good at making tahini sauce.

We do love our noodle bowls around here, and I have to say having the air fryer has upped the stakes on the deliciousness of the tofu. It looks like the bowl contains tofu, shiitake mushrooms, cucumbers, scallions, carrots, peanuts and romaine — a Vietnamese bun salad — probably a version of this one.

The last one is a puzzle. It's a scallion pancake, obviously, and I vaguely remember trying to make a gluten-free version of this beloved favorite. I learned to make scallion pancakes long ago in a cooking class taught by a Chinese chef, and the pancakes were perfection. I sort of remember craving scallion pancakes, and trying to recreate them with gluten-free flour. I looked through the note pad where I scribble my recipe experiments, and I found one for scallion pancakes but there's no mention of whether it worked or not. Was it gummy? floury? weird? I don't remember. It looks good, though, doesn't it? If you feel like making traditional scallion pancakes, you can find the recipe here.

Red Curry Veggies

2017-10-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Red curry veggies. Photo by Andrea Zeichner.

Last month I reviewed Celine Steen's newest cookbook, Bold Flavored Vegan Cooking: Healthy Plant-Based Recipes With a Kick. We had a great time trying out the delicious, intensely-flavored dishes, but at the time I wrote the review, I didn't have permission to post any of the recipes. I'm pleased to be able to share one of our favorites with you now — red curry veggies. (The recipe calls for eggplant, but I used zucchini.) I hope you'll try it and enjoy it as much as we did. If you want to know more about the other recipes we tried from the cookbook, you can read my review, here.

Reprinted with permission by Page Street Publishing Co. Photo by Celine Steen.

Red Curry Veggies
Gluten-Free. In A Hurry. Oil-Free

Have you noticed that different brands of red curry pastes vary wildly in heat and flavor? I bought one to make an earlier version of this curry and kept on havingto add extra paste to get some semblance of flavor. It's like purchasing a small jar of nothingness! That's why I decided to make my own (page 185) for the most reliable results. Note that a few testers made this using the store-bought paste they’re accustomed to. So fear not: it will work if you already have a favorite. You can always add more paste later, even after the coconut milk is added, so start with the lower amount of paste if you’re not familiar with its intensity yet.

Yield: 4 servings

2 to 3 tbsp (30 to 45 ml) reduced sodium tamari, divided
9 oz (255 g) trimmed and cut green beans (1-inch [2.5-cm])
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 red onion, trimmed and peeled, diced
4 baby eggplants or 1 small eggplant (10 oz [283 g] total), trimmed and cut into thin half moons
1 bell pepper (any color), trimmed and chopped
1 to 3 tbsp (15 to 45 g) Red Curry Paste (page 185) or store-bought, to taste
2 tbsp (30 ml) lime juice
1 tbsp (5 g) dried shiitake powder
1⁄2 tsp ginger powder
1⁄2 tsp ground cumin
1⁄2 tsp ground coriander
1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
1 (14-oz [414-ml]) can unsweetened coconut milk or coconut cream
1⁄2 tsp coarse kosher salt, or to taste
Cooked brown rice, legumes, potatoes, noodles or peas, for serving
Fresh basil or cilantro, for serving

Place 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of tamari, the green beans, garlic and onion in a large pot. Heat on medium-high and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the eggplant and sauté until browned, approximately 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the bell pepper, curry paste to taste, lime juice, shiitake powder, ginger, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Sauté 2 minutes to toast and release the flavors, stirring frequently. Add another 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of tamari and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the coconut milk, stir well and simmer until the veggies are tender to taste, about 8 minutes. Have a taste to add the salt if you feel it's needed.
Serve on top of rice or other choice of grain or potatoes. Add a chopped herb of choice, and adjust the amount of tamari to taste.

Reprinted with permission by the publisher, Page Street Publishing Co., from Bold Flavored Vegan Cooking: Healthy Plant-Based Recipes With a Kick, written and photographed by Celine Steen.

My favorite granola

2017-10-12T17:55:00.003-07:00

The recipe makes two large pans of toasty, crunchy granola.

In the fall of 2010, I was gifted several coupons for free, and discounted make-your-own-books on Blurb.com, and I had the great idea to create cookbooks as holiday gifts for my immediate family members. I already had loads of photos, recipes and text from my blog, plus I was a graphic designer — it would be a piece of cake, so to speak. In my excitement, I 'forgot' that all the photos were sized for the Web, and would have to be re-edited for print. The text had to be edited, too, and the Blurb software was nothing like the professional layout software I was used to. I was constantly frustrated by not being able to design the book exactly as I wanted, and not to have access to my favorite fonts. But, I worked day and night — literally — until I had produced a 120 page, lavishly illustrated cookbook. Good thing I had all the coupons, as the cost of buying one of the books at actual price is substantial. I just looked on Blurb to see if my book was still there. It is, and a paperback copy sells for $46.99! (Granted, Blurb did a fabulous job on the printing, and the paper is beautiful, but, seriously? Who buys a cookbook for $46.99?) They even have an online preview where you can look at every page of my book in miniature. (If you're curious ... just click on the book and the pages turn) I see that Blurb now offers a way to design a book with Adobe InDesign. It's also possible to create the book using whatever software you prefer, make a PDF, and use the PDF to print the book. I guess the PDF feature was available when I made my book, but I was too far into it before I realized the personal limitations of the free Blurb software, and the thought of starting over when I found out about the PDF option, was worse than just finishing what I had already started. In spite of the huge amount of work, and the frustrations, the end result was worth it. Everyone who received a copy seemed pleased, and in spite of all the difficulties, I was glad I had done it. The Blurb software, while a bit frustrating to me, would be fine for someone not as invested in professional design as I was at the time. If you start now, you should be able to finish a book in time to give as a holiday gift to a special someone. It doesn't have to be a cookbook— poetry, photography, stories — anything, really. There are many more choices of personal online printers now besides Blurb, some of them much cheaper. Blurb will give you great results, though. They now even offer lay-flat binding — for a price.

The liquid and dry ingredients are best mixed together by hand, as in, use your hands.

My husband got out the cookbook recently to find something to make for dinner, and I started looking through it. I hadn't gotten very far when I found my old favorite granola recipe which appeared on this blog in March, 2009. It's been years since I've made, or eaten, granola, and I was eager to revisit the recipe. Another blogger I know had recently posted about making granola, and although I never got around to checking out her recipe, the word "granola" was etched in my brain. Granola. It just has a delicious ring to it.

The recipe was just as good as I remembered, and I've been crunching it for breakfast all week. It's a breakfast that really satisfies, and keeps me full for hours.

A bowl of crunchy granola with soy milk.

Crunchy granola
(updated recipe)

7 cups rolled oats, GF if needed*
1 cup hemp hearts (GF if needed)*, OR 1 cup hulled sesame seeds, OR 1 cup raw wheat germ
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw walnuts, in halves or pieces
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (opt.)
1 cup apple juice (I add 3-4 tablespoons of frozen apple juice concentrate to a one cup measure, and add water to make 1 cup)
1/4 cup maple syrup (or agave syrup, or sorghum, or 1/3 cup rice syrup)
1/3 cup almond butter (or other nut or seed butter)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (opt.)
1 teaspoon ground ginger (opt.)
1 cup pitted, chopped medjool dates
1 cup raisins (or 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup unsweetened dried cranberries)
1/2 to 1 cup non-dairy dark chocolate chips (optional, but, what can I say, recommended) (I used 3/4 cup this time)

Mix together the oats, hemp hearts, cashews, sunflower seeds, coconut and salt in a large bowl.
Mix the apple juice, sweetener and almond butter in a small pot and warm over low heat, whisking to dissolve the almond butter. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, cinnamon and ginger, if using.
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. I used my hands for this because the spoon was too slow. Be sure to mix up the dry ingredients from the bottom of the bowl.
Divide between two large baking pans and bake in a 325˚F oven for ABOUT 40-45 minutes. While it's baking, stir about every 10 minutes to toast evenly and to prevent burning. The bottom and edges will toast first, so stir them in.
When it turns golden brown, turn off the heat and allow to sit in the oven about 30-40 minutes to continue drying.
Remove from the oven and stir in the fruit. You will probably have to break up the dates if they are very soft. Let cool completely, then stir in the chocolate chips if you dare. (It's breakfast, after all. Be sensible!) If you do add chocolate chips, really let the granola cool well before stirring them in or the chocolate will melt. Yes, it will. I guess I didn't wait long enough because my chocolate chips melted. They still tasted great but the surprise of crunching on a chocolate chip was sacrificed for the taste of chocolate flavored granola.
Serve with your favorite plant milk.

*Bob's Red Mill sells certified gluten-free rolled oats and hemp hearts. Although neither item contains gluten, cross contamination can be a problem with oats and hemp for those with celiac or severe allergies.

Spicy hemp breakfast sausage - vegan, gluten-free

2017-10-06T12:39:00.001-07:00

From the air fryer.

A few years ago, Nov., 2014, to be exact, I came across a recipe in Vegetarian Times for Spicy Hemp Breakfast Sausages. I was intrigued. All the vegan sausages I'd ever made in the past depended on gluten, as in vital wheat gluten, for their texture and stability. The recipe used hemp seeds and masa harina to make the sausage dough. (You can find certified GF masa harina, and hemp seeds, but you can't assume all brands are GF due to contamination. Bob's Red Mill sells both.)

Mashing the beans into the spice liquid to cook until dry.

First you make a spice mixture, rehydrate the masa harina with some of the spice liquid, then stir in the hemp. Next you cook and mash the beans a little at a time with spice liquid until all the liquid evaporates, then you stir the bean mixture into the hemp hearts and masa harina. Refrigerate overnight, then shape and cook the sausage patties. I cooked some of the patties in my air fryer, and those were my favorites. The rest of the sausage patties were baked in the oven then frozen for future use. I baked them on parchment paper on two large pans, cooled them, then cut the paper into patty-sized squares and used the squares to stack the patties and pack them into a freezer bag. I've also cooked them in a small amount of oil on a cast iron griddle, and they turned out great. Yesterday, I reheated a frozen one in the air fryer, and it worked perfectly.

Refrigerate the mixture overnight before shaping into patties.

So, if I've been making these for three years, why haven't I ever mentioned them? Sometimes I question what 'easy vegan recipe' means. Does easy also mean instant? The sausage recipe is easy enough — anyone could do it — but it does take a little patience to work through all the steps. I never shared the recipe because I thought it might not fit with the 'easy vegan' theme, but it's so good, you might want to add it to your repertoire at least for special occasions, even if you consider it too much trouble for a regular rotation. I'm thinking of incorporating it into a Thanksgiving recipe, for example. The texture isn't the same as if it contained gluten, but the seasoning is spot on, and the taste and texture are great.

Toasted Olivia GF bread, garden lettuce, hemp sausage, dijon, jalapeño-stuffed olive.

As I mentioned earlier, the recipe originally appeared in an issue of Vegetarian Times, so I contacted the magazine to see if they would grant me permission to reprint the recipe. It took some time (a long time) to hear back from them, but they said no. That means if the magazine ever stops publishing, and takes down it's Web site, linked recipes will no longer be available. This has happened to me in the past when I linked to a recipe on a blog, so I prefer to share the actual recipe rather than a link. But for now, here is a link to the recipe. I'd rather share the actual recipe, but a link is better than nothing. The sausages are satisfying as part of a breakfast plate, or as a sandwich filling at lunch, or with veggies and a grain or potato at dinner. Do they sound like too much trouble? I admit, I'm often put off if a recipe has too many steps or requires chilling overnight, but this recipe makes a LOT, so you can eat some now and freeze some for later. You can also store the mix in the refrigerator for a few days, and fry some for breakfast each morning. This works especially well if you make just half a recipe. If you follow a gluten-free diet (or even if you don't) and have been longing for a sausage recipe, I encourage you to try this one.

Note: I just want to remind people that although it's tempting, it's not okay to reprint someones recipe or photos as your own. You can share a list of ingredients, but not the directions. You can adapt a recipe, but changing one ingredient isn't enough. You can also create a new recipe based on one you admire, and say you were 'inspired' by the original. In all cases, you should link back to the original recipe. When I searched for the spicy sausage recipe, I was surprised to find it, including the original photo, on a few blogs, without so much as a link back to Vegetarian Times. One blogger merely changed the order of ingredients, slightly changed the directions, and took credit for the recipe. I also found a slight variation of the recipe using chickpea flour instead of masa harina. If you have questions about what the rules are for sharing recipes, you might find this post helpful.

Bold Flavored Vegan Cooking: cookbook review

2017-09-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Once you start cooking from Bold Flavored Vegan Cooking: Healthy Plant-Based Recipes With a Kick, you will never complain about bland vegan food again. Whether you're looking to spice up your own diet, or prepare fabulous foods to impress omnivore family and friends who may think vegan food is boring, Celine's newest recipe collection will provide the recipes you need to create beautiful and seriously flavorful vegan food.

Although not a gluten-free cookbook by any means, if you need your food to be gluten-free, (or soy-free or oil-free), Celine has you covered with clearly marked recipes and instructions that make it easy to find the kinds of meals you're looking for. In a hurry and need a fabulous dish you can make in 30 minutes? There are recipes for speedy, richly flavored dishes, too. In addition to instructions for creating the sumptuous dishes, there's a generous section called Staples, with directions for making homemade versions of, in Celine's words, "striking spice mixes, umami-packed broth, bright and tangy finishing sauces, and more." I admit to being someone who typically eats a pretty simple diet, and maybe you are, too, but when you are craving a flavor-intense meal, this is the book you need.

We tried several of the recipes, and were not disappointed. The first one we sampled was Tamarind Miso Soup, and it was an eye-opener. The tamarind paste completely changed the flavor of the vegetable-packed soup from what we were used to. I wish my photo had turned out as well as the soup, but, unfortunately it did not, so words will have to suffice.

Next, we sampled Smoky Kale and Chickpeas With Miso Peanut Drizzle. I think we've had this at least three times since receiving the book. Need I say more? Seduced by the great flavor and ease of preparation, we had to force ourselves to move on and try other recipes. I think this will become a standard in our dining repertoire. (You can find the recipe reprinted on The Vegan 8 blog.)

The next selection was Five-Spice Teriyaki Bowl, served over gluten-free buckwheat noodles, and cooked by my husband. He must have neglected to read Celine's recipe introduction warning about the "warm, yet pungent licorice-like flavor of five-spice powder." She cautioned about star anise and fennel haters, of which I AM ONE, but he added the full two teaspoons of five-spice to the pot anyway. This was his first (and maybe last) time cooking with five-spice powder. It didn't end well. The dish was beautiful and 'fragrant', and even though I only had one mouthful before exhibiting intense irrational behavior, I could tell that others might find it excellent. My husband sure liked it. I've been trying for years to teach myself to like anise and fennel, but I'm not there yet. I could have enjoyed a quarter or possibly even a half teaspoon, but not two. Not two. Remember, you can always adjust the seasonings you're adding to a dish to accommodate your personal preferences.

Last night I made Red Curry Veggies, and we loved it. One of the reasons I chose the recipe was because it featured green beans, and we had a bagful of fresh green beans from our son and daughter-in-law's garden. I also had a zucchini from my neighbor's garden which I used instead of the eggplant in the recipe, and a few pieces of leftover air-fried tofu from the night before which I threw in just because. The curry was excellent, and will probably show up at our next meal for company.

I'm looking forward to trying more of the recipes from Bold Flavored Vegan Cooking.

Just a note: The cookbook has one of those nifty bindings that allows it to stay open while you use it.

Author Celine Steen, is the talented writer, recipe creator and photographer behind the popular vegan blog, Have Cake Will Travel, as well as the author or co-author, and photographer of 12 vegan cookbooks including The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions, Whole Grain Baking, and Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, Page Street Publishing Company. I was not paid to write the review. All opinions are my own.

This post may contain Amazon links.

Date Lady coconut caramel sauce

2017-06-13T06:38:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned previously that I don't have much of a sweet tooth. My idea of sweet is usually another person's idea of 'not too sweet'. I didn't eat much candy growing up — because I didn't like it. I remember once finding a box of Valentine's Day chocolates I'd been given by a boyfriend, stuffed away into a drawer, a year later. A few of the chocolates were missing, however, because before stashing the box away, I'd searched for, and eaten, the caramel-filled chocolates. Caramel was the one candy I liked. Maybe that's why I like dates so much — they are reminiscent of caramel, and work well for making a vegan, vanilla-spiked caramel sauce, and giving baked goods a hint of caramel flavor. When I was offered a sample jar of Date Lady coconut caramel sauce, what could I say but yes?

Date Lady's new syrup is not only easy to use and delicious, it's made from natural, organic, GMO-free, gluten-free ingredients. The sauce starts with a base of 67% organic dates and then includes organic coconut cream, organic vanilla extract and baobab powder.

"'From the beginning, we have always wanted to produce a caramel sauce that was made with traditional ingredients and methods,' said Colleen Sundlie, President, Date Lady. 'Our initial Date Lady Caramel Sauce was a top-seller, but we had trouble wrapping our head around the fact that we couldn’t get a detailed ingredient list for the organic flavoring. So, we decided to move forward and take on the challenge of creating new recipes using only food to create rich and creamy flavors.'"

I tried my syrup on a scoop of mint chocolate chip coconut ice cream. The syrup's flavor straight from the jar is rich, dark and delicious, with a velvety taste of coconut cream, but I'm afraid the flavor was a bit overpowered by the sweetness and mintiness of the ice cream. I was wishing I had vanilla ice cream to try instead, but, it's possible ice cream may be too sweet for the syrup to be its best.

I was thinking I needed something more cake-like to really showcase the flavor ... or maybe a waffle. And yes, it was perfect on the waffle, eliciting an enthusiastic "mmmmm" from both my husband and myself. I think it would be excellent drizzled over a bundt cake or on top of a muffin. Any slice of plain cake would be transformed with a bit of Date Lady coconut caramel sauce.

Normally $7.99, the coconut caramel sauce will be featured in a one-day flash sale on June 15 for $5. This would be the perfect time to grab a jar, and enjoy a bit of the luxurious topping.

DATE LADY COCONUT CARAMEL SAUCE ($8.99, 11OZ. JAR)
100% Organic, Vegan, Gluten Free, Non-GMO
Ingredients: Date syrup, Coconut Cream (coconut, water), Coconut Oil, Vanilla Extract, Baobab Powder, Pectin, Sea Salt

I was given a free jar of coconut caramel sauce for review purposes. I was not paid for my review. All opinions are my own.

Everyday Vegetarian, cookbook review and recipe

2017-06-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Time Inc. New York, NY.
All rights reserved.

I usually only accept vegan cookbooks for review, but I made an exception for Everyday Vegetarian for several reasons. The book, by the editors of Cooking Light, contains more than 150 vegetable-centric dishes using easy-to-find ingredients. Although only 20 percent of the recipes are vegan, most experienced vegans could easily turn a majority of the other recipes vegan by a simple substitution or two — rice syrup instead of honey; plant milk, vegan butter or vegan cheese instead of dairy, etc. The recipes are straightforward, easy to follow, and each recipe is accompanied by an appetizing full-color photo.

So why am I reviewing a vegetarian cookbook? (No, I'm NOT a newly minted ex-vegan. No, no, no — never!) Vegetarianism and veganism seem to be on an upswing right now. More and more restaurants are offering vegan options, and more people than ever are expressing curiosity about plant-based and vegetarian diets. However, even when the interest is present, changing one's diet can seem like an insurmountable task without some sort of gentle introduction. Not everyone wants to be hit over the head with a 'be-vegan-or-else' mandate. Some folks prefer to ease into change more slowly. Lots of vegans, myself included, were vegetarians for a few years before becoming vegan. People give up animal products for different reasons. For some it's for health, others care deeply about reducing animal suffering, some might become plant-based for the environment. Some embrace multiple reasons for dietary change. I try to accept people at whatever dietary stage they are, and help them move forward, which is why I'm reviewing Everyday Vegetarian; I think it's a great stepping stone to helping people move towards a vegetarian, and hopefully, vegan diet. Or just to add more plant-based meals to the menu.

No matter what their dietary motives are, I'd guess most people want their food to taste great, and that is where Everyday Vegetarian steps in. Written by the editors of Cooking Light, it brings creative, colorful, delicious vegetarian and vegan cooking expertise into an already popular, mainstream cooking forum. I think it would be an extremely appealing cookbook not just for established vegetarians and vegans, but esprcially for those just starting to incorporate more plant-based choices into their diet. The people who are looking to make plant-centric changes to their diet, no matter how small those changes start out, are the perfect target audience for Everyday Vegetarian. (Note that the cookbook doesn't address food sensitivities so you will have to make your own adjustments to the recipes if you must, or choose to, avoid certain ingredients. I'm used to adjusting recipes for my own dietary needs so this isn't an issue for me, but I wanted to mention it for those who might be interested.) While easy cooking methods and familiar ingredients are emphasized, the authors also encourage readers to be open to trying new ingredients and flavors. For those just venturing into the whole foods, plant-based cooking experience, a description of ingredients and where to find them is helpfully included.

Asian stir-fry quinoa bowl - photo by Andrea

I have to say, I was delighted with the recipes I tried. They were easy, beautiful and delicious. The vegan recipe for Asian stir-fry quinoa bowl was so good, belying its everyday ingredients and simple preparation. It looked and tasted great — I loved it. The main thing we did differently was cook the tofu in the air fryer — just because we love our air fryer so much, but that's certainly not a requirement for the excellent recipe!

Roasted cauliflower and chickpea whole wheat spaghetti bowl - photo by Andrea

We also tried roasted cauliflower and chickpea whole wheat spaghetti bowl — another seemingly simple vegan recipe with outstanding flavor. As I mentioned earlier, the recipes don't take food sensitivities into account, but if you are used to making adjustments for your own health and taste preferences, it shouldn't be a problem. For example, instead of whole wheat spaghetti, I subbed quinoa spaghetti to accommodate my gluten intolerance. And a sweet pepper was used instead of a chile pepper, because that's what we had. Next time, it will be a chile pepper.

There are so many more recipes I want to try, such as one pot green curry stew with potatoes and cauliflower, black bean cakes with ginger and cilantro cream, whole roasted carrots with black lentils and green harissa, tempeh with charred peppers and kale, etc., etc.

If you are looking to add more plant-based recipes to your diet, Everyday Vegetarian is a cookbook I recommend. If you're already vegetarian or vegan, you'll find lots of wonderful recipes to inspire you.

I have permission from the publisher to share the recipe for roasted cauliflower and chickpea whole wheat spaghetti bowl with you. Hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we did.

Roasted cauliflower and chickpea whole wheat

spaghetti bowl Hands-on: 35 minutes Total: 35 minutes Serves 4

This one-bowl meal is an ideal option for healthy meals on the go; It comes together quickly and can be made ahead. It gets wonderful texture from the chickpeas and cauliflower, nuttiness from the whole-wheat pasta, and rich umami flavor from the miso and tahini. You’ll find the miso paste in the refrigerated produce section and tahini in the international aisle.

1 small head cauliflower, broken into 1-inch florets (about 31/2 cups)
1 (15-ounce) can unsalted chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons white miso paste
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove
6 ounces uncooked whole-wheat spaghetti
½ cup firmly packed parsley leaves
1 red chile pepper, thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Combine the cauliflower, chickpeas, oil, black pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Spread the mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet; bake at 425°F for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender and lightly browned.
2. Place ¼ cup water, miso, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic in a mini food processor; process until smooth.
3. Prepare the pasta according to the package directions, omitting the fat and salt. Drain. Divide the noodles evenly among 4 bowls. Top evenly with the cauliflower mixture. Drizzle evenly with the miso dressing; top evenly with the parsley and sliced chile.

Excerpted from Everyday Vegetarian by the editors of Cooking Light. Copyright © 2017 Oxmoor House. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Time Inc. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

..............................................................................................................

EVERYDAY VEGETARIAN: A Delicious Guide for Creating More Than 150 Meatless Dishes by the editors of Cooking Light (Oxmoor House, May 16, 2017, $21.95) was sent to me at no cost. I was not paid for my review. All opinions about the book are my own.

Baking experiments etc.

2017-05-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

I sat down to write a post about my pizza and bread baking experiments with a few air fryer photos thrown in, but when I went through my last few posts to make sure I wasn't repeating myself, the fry photos attacked me, and I had no choice but to give in and make a batch. At least I know my blog is inspiring somebody, even if it's only me. The fries have a half teaspoon of oil, a sprinkle of coarse salt and too many crushed red peppers. They were delicious, yes, but a little too spicy for me, and now my nose is running. I guess it's a small price to pay for fries-on-demand. I usually make them sans oil but wanted to see if they would be a lot different if I used some. Maybe a little different, but I like them so much plain that I think I'll stick to that method when air frying for myself.

About a month ago I started experimenting again with making gluten-free pizza crust. You can see the results above, topped with mozzarella made from the recipe in Miyoko Schinner's book, The Homeade Vegan Pantry. It was a crust raised with baking powder but not yeast. After I made it I watched a video about applying science to gluten free baking, specifically pizza, and was surprised that I'd added most of the recommended ingredients on my own. I felt so scientific, and intended to take it to the next level, but it never happened. (The ingredients included: Bob's Red Mill GF flour mix, millet flour, coconut flour, psyllium husks, sugar, baking powder, salt, almond flour, flax eggs, water.) Before making the dough, I'd thought about what ingredients I should add, and why I was adding them. The crust was good, but not great. After watching the video, I decided to increase certain ingredients and add additional ones, and now I'm trying to inspire myself to try it again tonight, so perhaps there will be an update soon. Sadly, I don't have homemade mozzarella, but I'll just make a cheese sauce. The aforementioned video said to make the dough very wet, spread it on a pizza pan, bake it in a slow oven for 45 minutes to dry it out, then let it cool while preheating the oven to 425˚F. Add the toppings and bake about 15 minutes. I'll have to watch the video again, but the long, double baking time might exceed my attention span. Perhaps I will selectively incorporate ideas from the video.

I discovered an interesting thing about the pizza while heating up the leftovers. I used my air fryer to heat the leftover slices, and they improved dramatically — becoming crisp on the bottom and chewy inside, just as they should be. Maybe there is something to that scientific double baking time.

As for the cheese, it takes two days to make the mozzarella, but once the ingredients are mixed and cooked, it practically makes itself. Most of the time is just waiting for the cheese to ripen. The recipe is called oil-free melty "mozzarella," and I made the sauerkraut juice version. I recommend it, but would probably make the Rejuvelac version next time.

In addition to making pizza with the homemade mozzarella, I also made a vegan version of poutine. I've never actually had poutine made with cheese curds and gravy, so I can't speak to how my version compares, but I can tell you, with mushroom gravy and mozzarella, it was damn fine (as Agent Cooper would say). I swear, if my air fryer ever breaks, I will immediately replace it.

Along with my pizza trials, I revisited the buckwheat-millet nut-and-seed bread that has appeared on the blog periodically — here, here, and here. I've slowly been making changes to the recipe, and when I'm satisfied, I'll post a revised version. The original, unyeasted, naturally leavened loaf is still delicious, but I've been working on a yeasted version in an attempt to make the texture lighter. My husband recently had some dental work done that requires him not to eat nuts or seeds for a month, so the bread is on hold for a couple more weeks. I can't eat the whole loaf by myself.

Here are a few more random dishes made with the aid of the air fryer. (Baking in the oven or frying in a pan are alternatives to the air fryer.) When I air fry tofu, I find it most efficient to cut the tofu into strips, then cube it after it's done. So here's what it looks like before I turn it into a recipe. (It takes a lot of will power to not just eat it as is.)

Fancier-than-usual miso soup, or any miso soup, is always welcome at our house. I love to add air fried tofu to miso soup.

Vegetables and (air fried) tofu with peanut sauce is a fast option when we're too tired or lazy to think of something new for dinner. My husband found a recipe called almost instant peanut sauce on the Forks Over Knives Web site that was surprisingly delicious, and turned a simple dish into a wonderfully satisfying meal.

My dog is patiently waiting for me to take her for a walk, so I'm going to conclude my post here. I'm working on a cookbook review, and a new product review which I hope to finish soon.

Braised greens with tofu, cashews and raisins, with polenta

2017-04-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

I tend to try a recipe, love it, and never make it again. If my husband, on the other hand, tries a recipe and likes it, he makes it again and again until neither of us can stand the sight of it. That's what happened to the recipe I'm sharing today, twice, but he made it recently and, unsuspecting, I tasted it and said, "this is delicious, what is it?"

It seemed vaguely familiar, and turned out to be a recipe I had posted back in 2008, and again in 2012. With some minor changes to the ingredients, I'm re-posting it again since we enjoyed it so much. I want to occasionally share some of the older recipes that have become buried in the archives, and this one deserves another look.

Braised greens with tofu, cashews and raisins, served over polenta (serves 2 to 3 adults)

The polenta

The polenta is based on a recipe from Passionate Vegetarian, by Crescent Dragonwagon. The author says it's an old Tuscan peasant recipe.

1 cup course grind cornmeal (our co-op sells a bulk coarse grind labeled "polenta")
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes (not brewers yeast powder), optional but recommended

Oil a 3 quart oven-proof skillet or dish. Put all ingredients in the dish and mix together casually.
Put the dish, uncovered, in a pre-heated 350˚ oven. Bake for 40 minutes, undisturbed. After 40 minutes, stir and bake 10 more minutes, if needed. Remove from oven and let sit for five minutes. Creamy, dreamy, heartwarming polenta. Mmm.

I always make the polenta in a 3 1/2 quart enameled cast iron casserole pan from Le Creuset. It's one of three pieces of the cookware I own, and it gets used nearly every day. Because the pan isn't supposed to go directly from cold to hot, I put the polenta in the oven when I turn it on to pre-heat, and start the timer when the oven reaches the correct temperature. Lately, I've been making the polenta in my Instant Pot, but if you don't have an Instant Pot, the oven method is foolproof and easy.

the braised greens with tofu, cashews and raisins

Based on a recipe that I think was from the NY Times, but I'm not sure. The inspiration may have come from Parade Magazine.

1 pound collard greens (I used a large bunch - no idea what it weighed) (or you can use kale, which was in the original version of the recipe)
2 tablespoons olive oil or low sodium veg broth
1/2 pound extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon tamari
1/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup bread crumbs (one slice of bread should be about right- use gluten-free bread if desired)
1/4 cup raisins (I use dried cranberries when making this dish for a certain raisin-hater)
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (shiitake are recommended)
one good sized carrot, peeled and finely grated
1/2 teaspoon natural sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (unseasoned)
salt to taste, as needed
freshly ground black pepper

Wash greens, remove any thick stems, coarsely chop and set aside the leaves.
Place the tofu cubes in a small bowl and drizzle with one teaspoon tamari. Toss to coat all the cubes. Let sit five minutes.
Heat one tablespoon oil in wok or skillet. Add the tofu cubes and cook over high heat until browned.*
Turn the heat down. Add the mushrooms, cashews and bread crumbs and sauté until they are lightly browned. Stir in the raisins. Remove mixture from pan and set aside.
Add the other tablespoon of oil to pan, add the shredded carrot, increase heat to high and add the greens. Stir to mix, then cover and cook about three minutes until the greens have wilted but are still bright green. (Be careful not to burn them.)
Reduce heat, stir in sugar and vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the tofu mixture. Spread over polenta and serve.

Sometimes I spread the polenta on a large serving platter and arrange the veggies 'decoratively' on top. You can garnish with parsley and olives if desired.

*I used my air fryer to fry the tofu without oil. I let the tofu cook while I prepared and cooked the rest of the dish, and added it at the end. The tofu takes about 20 to 30 minutes in the air fryer. Low sodium vegetable stock was used to sauté the veggies.

The whole vegetable part takes about 15-20 minutes including prep time, so plan accordingly so you can have the veggies and polenta finish cooking about the same time.

How to impress the kids with an air fryer

2017-04-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

Two of my young grandchildren recently spent the day with us, and at one point during the visit I saw my nine-year-old granddaughter looking at my food blog on my husband's computer. I had no idea she even knew about the blog, and I asked her how she found it. "I just googled your name," she said. "Look. I'll show you how." Okay. That was weird. But it got even better.

"I love looking at pictures of food," she said. "Want to see my favorite thing?" she asked. "Ummm sure," I answered. She then went to my air fryer post and found a photo of French fries.

This is the photo she showed me. "Fries are my favorite food. I wish I could have these right now," she said, wistfully. "You can!" I answered, and less than 20 minutes later, she was sitting in front of a plate of puffy, crispy fries, which she devoured. I think the air fryer has become the most used appliance in the kitchen. And I now have super powers!

I admit, in the beginning days of owning the air fryer, I was so obsessed with fries (and tofu) that every time I went to make something in the air fryer, I ended up making one of those two things. I've expanded my repertoire a bit, though if I'm being honest, they are still my favorites.

Seattle Vegfest 2017

2017-04-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

Before heading to the latest incarnation of Seattle Vegfest, I checked my last vegfest blog post for inspiration, to get myself excited to head down to the Seattle Center, and spend several hours battling the crowds for samples and insight into the newest vegan and vegetarian products. (Vegfest includes vegetarian as well as vegan items, so we have to ask before sampling any unfamiliar foods to make sure they're vegan.) If I'm being honest, I think the 2015 post was a much better post than this one is going to be — better photos, better samples — maybe you should go read that one instead of this. (Just kidding.)

Some of my favorite products and people weren't there this year, including So Delicious. I was really looking forward to sampling So Delicious cashew ice cream. And Jill from Someday Farm B&B wasn't there either. At least Miyoko Schinner was there to give a cooking demo. I'm sure you know her from Miyoko's Kitchen vegan cheese, or from one of her cookbooks, Artisan Vegan Cheese, The Homemade Vegan Pantry, Japanese Cooking, or Now and Zen Epicure. I have all of her cookbooks and have been to many cooking demos and a book talk. At Vegfest this year, she made almond feta, which she then used to make stuffed shells. It really doesn't matter what Miyoko makes, her demos are always entertaining and informative. She did a very amusing demonstration of how to peel almonds by bringing a bunch of kids from the audience on stage and having them shoot almonds at the crowd. One of the samples I tried and admired at Vegfest this year, was Miyoko's Kitchen smoked mozzarella — excellent!

We also attended a cooking demo by Chef Ramses Bravo, executive chef at TrueNorth Health Center. He made a couple of vegetable dishes that looked delicious. Chef Ramses has a cookbook, too, (which I reviewed here), so I was interested in seeing him in person. When I reviewed his book, I was cooking with, and eating, a lot more oil than I do now, so it was fun to watch an oil-free cooking demo.

In between the cooking demos, we systematically wandered all the isles of the room to seek out as many samples to try as we could. It was so crowded I had trouble getting good photos, but beyond the crowds, we weren't as intrigued by the food as we have been in the past. That said, we did try a number of foods we really liked. Above, you see my husband happily holding a dish of delicious polenta about to be topped with a condiment that was so good, he ended up buying a jar on the spot.

Hero The Mighty Condiment Giardiniera.

I had just tasted the condiment, Hero The Mighty Condiment Giardiniera, on a cracker, and agreed we should take a jar home. It contains sweet red peppers, celery, carrots, Spanish olives, Serrano peppers, jalapeno peppers, pickled pearl onions, canola oil, white vinegar and salt. It's vegan, gluten free and GMO free, but not organic. It's made in Seattle so I don't don't how widely available it is.

We tasted a a bunch of stuff I didn't get photos of like Frooser, a frozen soft-serve type snack made entirely from whole fruits and veggies, and Wildwood GF baked tofu. Hodo Soy, which I wrote about here, was sampling their wares so of course, we tried some. We also tried numerous versions of kombucha (our favorite is still GTs), and I got to try a sample of Go Umami baked tofu bar from House Foods, which I'm told will be available soon in Seattle, but which tasted extremely salty to me. I have to say, though, I have strong reservations about how many single serve products wrapped in plastic we consume. What do you think about that?

Samples from our bag.

Before we left the hall, we renewed our membership in Vegetarians of Washington, and received a large bag of samples and coupons for free products and restaurant meals. The bag included the usual suspects as well as bottles of kombucha, Odwalla fruit smoothie. and more. There was even a full box of So Delicious ice cream sandwiches, which my husband is enjoying. In the photo above you can see a bit of what we brought home in our bag. I already buy the hemp hearts in a big bag, and add them to smoothies and baked goods. Haven't tried the Teechino, yet, and loved the Thin Stackers from Lundberg, which we will probably start buying.

My favorite item may have been the NadaMoo mint chocolate chip organic coconut ice cream. Whoa — delicious! I'm not even going to look at the ingredients until it's gone — why spoil a good thing. I've never had NadaMoo but it's definitely a most impressive dairy-free ice cream. Have you tried it?

Last but not least, is a jar of Make Me Smile, from Pascha Chocolate. It's made in Belgium for Pascha Chocolate in Toronto. Make Me Smile is a fruit and chocolate spread. When I tasted it, I was surprised at how incredibly sweet it was, and looked again to see the ingredients, because the label said it was made from fruit and chocolate. It is made from fruit, but it's made from fruit concentrates (pear, apple and date), sugar, fair-trade cocoa and citric acid. I think if you have a sweet tooth, you might love it, but for me the sweetness was too intense and overpowering. I couldn't eat more than a bite or two of my cracker, and had to run to the kitchen for a jalapeno-stuffed green olive chaser — shows you where my taste buds lie.

I'm sure I'm leaving some tasty things out, but I've described what I remember most from Seattle Vegfest 2017. I'll probably attend again next year, and hopefully pay more attention to photographing the goods!

Sauerkraut sushi? Maybe not.

2017-03-30T15:21:00.001-07:00

When the rain stops and the sun comes out in Seattle, you don't grab a quick shower, throw a load of clothes in the washer, or write a blog post. You go outside and plant the parsley! The parsley that's been sitting on the deck waiting for this moment is now in the ground. And it's raining again. Oh well. I was kind of hoping the sun would stay out for a while longer, but this season has been especially rainy and sunless. Normally, Seattle has a lot less rain than many other large cities, like New York, D.C., Baltimore, etc. It's often overcast and gloomy, though, except in later spring and summer, when it tends to be gloriously sunny and dry. Today, though, I'll probably be taking the dog for a walk in drizzle, and thinking about the parsley spreading its roots and preparing to grow bigger as the weather turns to spring. But first, a random post about some of the food we've been eating.

About the sushi in the post title ... I had a terrible craving for sushi. With a quantity of sushi rice in the pantry, and my Instant Pot standing at the ready, I got busy cooking rice and thinking about what to fill the rolls with. The fridge was bare of interesting things, and I wasn't in the mood to go shopping — it was probably raining. Not a cucumber. green onion or avocado in sight, and no creative thoughts in my brain. Nothing but a jar of sauerkraut stood out as a possibility. Let's just say I won't be making sauerkraut sushi again, and you shouldn't either. Not as the only add-in. Perhaps it would be an interesting flavor along with other, more colorful items like roasted red peppers or fried tofu.

I've been having loads of fun with my new air fryer; I use it constantly for everything imaginable. Here is a bowl of rice and veggies with air fried tofu and a sweet/sour sauce.

Leftover dinner salad filled with arugula — my favorite green of the moment — made a pleasant lunch. Although we eat a lot of salads in the summer, sometimes I forget to eat them in the chilly, gloomy months. And when I do consume raw greens in the winter, they have to be special. This is a Chinese salad with mandarins and toasted peanuts from Kristy Turner's cookbook, But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan, 125 Recipes to Win Everyone Over, which we can't help but make again and again.

The leftover salad nicely complemented leftover Thai food the following day. Most of our lunches are made from leftovers. I love leftovers.

My husband made tacos last week, and I wanted a cheesy topping, but I only had 10 minutes before the start of the Rachel Maddow show, to which I'm currently addicted (it's Pacific time here so she comes on at 6 p.m.). I made cheese sauce in under 10 minutes so I could get to the TV in time to watch. I didn't use a recipe, which made it faster, and didn't write it down, which I'm sorry about since it tasted so good. I made it in the Vitamix with approximately 1/2 -3/4 cup of cashews, 1 cup of hot water, one clove of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder, 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast flakes, two roasted red peppers from a jar, 1 scant tablespoon of tapioca starch, dash of rice vinegar (no time to squeeze lemon) and salt. After it was blended to a creamy sauce, I cooked it in a small pot to thicken it a bit more. It tasted great on the tacos, and now the leftovers are being spread on crackers and toast. I've been making vegan cheese sauces since the 80s, when I first acquired a copy of The Farm Cookbook, then later, from The Uncheese Cookbook and Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. Since then, vegan cheese has skyrocketed in popularity, and every vegan cookbook and vegan blog has multiple recipes available. If you don't feel like making one up based on past experience, just look for a recipe online. You won't have a problem finding something appealing. I have a few favorites that I turn to again and again — when speed isn't an issue! When I need something fast, and don't have time to undertake a recipe, I wing it.

The toast is made from the buckwheat millet bread I wrote about here. I've been experimenting with the bread again, and when I finish, I'll post an updated recipe.

I ran into a little problem after I made the bread because the air fryer bumped the toaster from its accessible location on the counter. The bread absolutely needs toasting to be at its best, so now the air fryer is also a toaster! And, it makes better toast than the toaster ever did. Love my air fryer!

Hodo Soy tofu products are now available nationwide

2017-03-16T14:54:00.001-07:00

Hodo Soy Thai Curry Tofu Nuggets served with veggies over rice.

When we travel to San Francisco, our primary purpose is to visit a loved family member, but I'd be lying if I said we also didn't look forward to the city itself — and the food! I have a number of posts on the blog about our visits to San Francisco, and the great times we have had exploring the Bay Area, and eating in the amazing vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants. Another of the things we always enjoy is visiting farmers markets like the one at the Ferry Building, and the Marin Farmers Market. When I go to a store in Seattle to buy a lemon or a lime or dates — I buy a lemon, a lime or dates. When I go to the farmers markets in and near San Francisco, I have to choose among 10 different varieties, all grown nearby. It's mind boggling. Even the tofu seems more exotic. It was at one of the farmers markets that I first tried Hodo Soy tofu, and I loved it so much, it really bugged me that it was only available in the Bay Area. Whenever I visited San Francisco, I always had to have some. The Hodo Soy tofu has a texture that is firm, chewy and almost squeaky. It's kind of like fresh cheese curds, if you've ever had those. And the yuba is so good. When I read they had started selling nation-wide, I was so excited. The Whole Foods near my house carries it, though the selection and availability are limited. So far we've only seen the curried tofu nuggets and the spicy yuba noodles, but hey, it's a start!

Hodo Soy Spicy Yuba noodles served with mixed veggies and miso soup.

You might be wondering what yuba is. When a pot of soymilk is heated, a skin forms on the surface. The skin is yuba. The skin is removed, and a new skin is allowed to form. The process is repeated over and over again. The yuba can be used fresh, or it may be frozen or dried. We often buy the dried form rolled up into tubes, which we re-hydrate and cook in soup, especially miso soup. The sheets can be used to make wraps. The Hodosoy Spicy Yuba Noodles are something special. They come in a vacuum pack ready to eat, or add to a dish.

Since last summer, I've been cooking pretty much fat-free, but when using prepared foods or eating out, fat-free doesn't apply. The tofu nuggets are fried, but the fat content doesn't seem terribly high to me and the taste is excellent. We don't eat them very often, but they add a great taste and texture to our dinner when we do.

I've included photos of the box fronts and backs so you can see the ingredients and other information. I hope you can find Hodo Soy products where you live. They are so delicious.

Here's one last image of the Thai curry nuggets served with a homemade curry sauce over rice.

p.s. I was not given free product to write a review. I wrote it because I enjoy Hodo Soy products and wanted to share information about them.

What we've been eating lately

2017-02-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

Every time I write a blog post I promise myself I'll write another one in a few days — or at least in a week. But the time just seems pass so quickly, and before I know it, two weeks have slipped by. I haven't stopped eating, I've just stopped thinking about it as much. And because I'm not thinking about it, I'm not taking photos of the food. Sometimes, though, I enjoy a dish I've made so much I can't help but photograph it. Today I'll share a collection of random foods I've managed to both enjoy and remember to photograph.

In my previous post I talked about my new air fryer, and I'm happy to report I'm still using it nearly every day — or more. In addition to lots of other foods, I've made a lot of fries, and have started embellishing them. The fries you see here are smothered in mushroom gravy, and were quite a treat. I've had many variations of the dish and plan to make one with cashew cheese and gravy — a take on poutine.

Yesterday, I made a 'baked' apple in the air fryer. I had already halved and cored the apple to eat when it occurred to me to air fry it. It took about 20 minutes at 390˚. The apple was sweet and sticky on the outside, and tender enough inside to cut with a fork. I added a dab of plum jam to make it look prettier for the photo, but honestly, it looked great the way it was. Tasted great, too.

Here is a dish of pasta with a side of bok choi. The interesting thing about the pasta, which we used to buy from Costco, is it's made from chickpeas. It's very high in protein so you don't really need another protein in your meal. I say "used to buy" because although I liked the pasta a lot when we first started eating it, I started to fall out of love with it after a while. It has a bit of a strong flavor that you either like or don't. Maybe I'll change my mind again, but for now, it's off the table.

We were also enamored with edamame spaghetti — another Costco find.

Seriously, where can you find pasta that has 24 grams of protein per serving. Wouldn't it be fun to answer the next "where do you get your protein?" question by saying, "oh, I get my protein from pasta." We used to love it, then we got tired of it. There's still a large box in the basement (it's from Costco, so quantity is part of the deal), and I'm hoping to start craving it again. Craving might be too strong a word, though.

These are spiced nuts from Kristy Turner's book, But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan. (I reviewed Kristy's book here, if you want to read more about it.) The nuts are GOOD — sweet and spicy and perfect to have on hand when company is coming. I made this particular batch to take to a snack potluck.

Last but not least, here is what a day's food might look like for my dog. I've mentioned before she's on a special diet for liver failure. She gets a hepatic formula dry food which I mix with veggies to attract her attention. Sometimes there are chickpeas, rice or quinoa. Most of the time, the add-ins are broccoli, peas and pumpkin. Ironically, the hepatic diet is vegetable-based, as she's not supposed to get too much protein, especially animal protein. Her appetite can be erratic, but most days she eats. I've found she prefers a shallow dish rather than a typical dog dish. She's doing extremely well, considering, and you would never guess she's got such a serious problem. She's my baby, and I love her a lot.

My air fryer — What? I bought an air fryer?

2017-02-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

Fries made from yukon gold potatoes.

I've been bested in my latest battle against the acquisition of new kitchen appliances by the powerful, almighty, fabulous-bargain-price, one-day-only-sale monster. I encountered the monster on a Facebook group for vegan air fryer enthusiasts, so what did I expect? I was there of my own free will, reading about other people's air frying fun, when the price notice popped up. And, I might add, I was conversant with the various models and their usual prices because I'd been researching them, just out of curiosity, you know. I didn't plan to actually buy one just then, but the one-day-only price appeared, and before I could stop myself I went to the Web page and clicked 'buy'. In the photo above you can see the first thing I made — oil-free fries. I ate them all myself, and, yes, they were good. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I seasoned them with granulated garlic, granulated onion and Old Bay Seasoning before I air-fried them.

Russet potatoes.

I've done lots of potato things, including crinkle cuts and wedges, and used different varieties of potatoes, and preparations. I've tried coating them with potato starch, pre-cooking them, etc., and have liked them all. Sometimes I have fries for breakfast.

The easiest thing is just to wash the potato, cut it into wedges and throw it into the air fryer. No matter what I do, the result is always delicious. One day I cut thin slices and made potato chips, but I ate them so fast I didn't have a chance to photograph them.

Russet potato.

My favorite potato to use is a russet, and a hefty russet like you see here (hand for scale :D) will make enough wedges or fries for three normal people or two greedy ones. (Or one incredibly greedy person.)

Although it's true I've eaten more potatoes lately than usual, I've also made a few other things in my air fryer. Like fried tofu cubes, for example. Here are some cubes I made to use in miso soup.

I've gotten much better at air-frying tofu since taking the photos here, and have started cutting the tofu into strips instead of cubes — I find it easier to cube it after it's done. And I'm frying it longer so it puffs up and becomes more crispy. I don't have any photos of my more recent efforts.

Here's a tofu experiment I did using three different coatings, but unfortunately, I neglected to write anything down, and now I've forgotten. It doesn't really matter though since everything I've tried has worked well, and most of the time I just air fry the tofu plain to use in other recipes.

Fries from garnet yams.

Sweet potato fries turned out great in the air fryer, and again, I didn't use oil. We gobbled these beauties up, and I was wishing I had more.

Carrots.

I did a little experiment with skinny carrots where I marinated them in tamari, a touch of maple syrup, liquid smoke and sriracha, before air frying them. They were tasty but I doubt I'll make them again. I also did tempeh strips with a homemade barbecue sauce. They came out a bit too dry, and I may try steaming the tempeh first, next time. We usually steam it before cooking but I was in a hurry.

Leftover pasta and tempeh.

I've also been using the air fryer to quickly reheat leftovers. I used it to reheat leftover pasta with tempeh chunks, and it tasted better than the original dish. The tempeh developed a nice crispy edge. It does an amazing job on leftover pizza. The pizza crust had a fabulous texture after its turn in the air fryer — better than at the restaurant! And I made onion rings!

This is my latest experiment — spring rolls stuffed with an egg roll filling of cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and air fried tofu. I would say it's a dish in progress — I see great potential but it's not quite there yet.

This is my air fryer. If you're not familiar with air fryers, they cook with moving hot air similar to a convection oven. They achieve results comparable to deep fat frying but with little or no oil. Some people use a small amount of oil and others use none, depending on preference. If you use no oil, the food won't come out tasting like it's coated in grease, but it will be crispy and delicious.

I'm having great fun experimenting with my fryer, and am glad I bought it, but I'm still trying to figure out where to keep it. Right now it's on the counter where the Cuisinart food processor used to be, while I wait for my recalled processor blade replacement to arrive.* Once the food processor is reinstated to its usual spot, I'll have to figure something out. Unless ... the food processor moves to a new location. Hmmm. Hadn't thought of that. The food processor is a lot smaller.

Here's the inside cooking basket. It looks larger in the photo than it actually is. The machine itself is a bit bulky, but the cooking basket is only about seven inches square. I like the Phillips, which gets good ratings but is expensive (unless, you know, there's a one-day-only special) because it has a metal cooking basket rather than non-stick. If I'm cooking something sticky, like tofu, I use parchment paper. Another air fryer that is popular is the GoWise. But, there are lots — and the prices are coming down.

Anyway, there are many more people who know much more than I do about air fryers, and I can point you to them if you're interested. I'm a novice. One thing I do know, though, is while I was putting together the blog post, I got a strong craving for fries, and as you can see in the photo, they're ready. Got to go now.

* Cuisinart food processor blade recall

Cuisinart issued a recall for the blades in certain processor models because slivers of the metal can break off and become embedded in food. People have suffered injuries due to ingesting the metal. If you haven't yet checked to see if you have one of the recalled models, you should!